Members

European Investment Bank

Owned by the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB) uses its special expertise and resources to make a difference to the future of Europe and its partners by supporting sound investments which further EU policy goals.

As a public policy bank, its main priority is to promote European economic development and integration. Around 90 percent of its activity is within the EU, with a focus on six areas : supporting disadvantaged regions, small and medium-sized enterprises, innovation and human capital and projects in the environmental, transport and energy sectors. It also lends to EU partner countries around the world in support of EU development policy and economic partnership agreements. New loan signatures amounted to EUR 77 billion in 2014, of which EUR 69 billion was within the EU.

The EIB Group, which comprises EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) plays a crucial role for the “European Fund for Strategic Investments” (EFSI), which aims to unlock additional investment of at least EUR 315bn over the next three years. EFSI is endowed with a EUR 16 billion guarantee from the EU budget, complemented by an allocation of EUR 5 billion of EIB’s own capital. EFSI will allow the EIB Group to increase the volume of higher risk projects and address the market failure in risk-taking which hinders investment in Europe.

EIB lending activity is mainly funded via bond issuance in the international capital markets. EIB debt products are purchased by both institutional and retail investors internationally.

Thanks to the EIB’s ownership by all EU sovereigns, EIB bonds offer top quality diversified sovereign class exposure. EIB bonds have always been considered of the highest credit quality with a AAA-rating.

The strategy of the EIB is kept constantly under review by its shareholders. Each year, the EIB Board of Directors, made up of representatives of EU Member States